DOCSLIB.ORG

A Guide to the Identification of Seahorses Sara A

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Guide to the Identification of Seahorses Sara A A Guide to the Identification of Seahorses Sara A. Lourie, Sarah J. Foster, Ernest W. T. Cooper, and Amanda C. J. Vincent A Guide to the Identification of Seahorses Sara A. Lourie, Sarah J. Foster, Ernest W. T. Cooper, and Amanda C. J. Vincent March 2004 Project Seahorse and TRAFFIC North America © 2004 University of British Columbia and World Wildlife Fund. All rights reserved. © Laurence Richardson for all drawings produced by Laurence Richardson. ISBN 0-89164-169-6 Reproduction and distribution for resale by any means Ñ photogr aphic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or information storage and retrieval systems Ñ of any parts of this book, illustrations or texts is prohibited without prior written consent from University of British Columbia (UBC), World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and Laurence Richardson. Reproduction for CITES enforcement or educational and other noncommercial purposes by CITES Authorities and the CITES Secretariat is authorized without prior written permission, provided the source is fully acknowledged. Any reproduction, in full or in part, of this publication must credit Project Seahorse and TRAFFIC North America. The views of the authors expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of Project Seahorse, UBC, the TRAFFIC network, WWF, or IUCN-The World Conservation Union. This publication was prepared in part under award number NA03NMF4630332 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, US Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or the Department of Commerce. The designation of geographical entities in this publication and the presentation of the material do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of Project Seahorse, TRAFFIC, or their supporting organizations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The TRAFFIC symbol copyright and Registered Trademark ownership are held by WWF. TRAFFIC is a joint program of WWF and IUCN. Suggested citation: Lourie, S. A. et al. 2004. A Guide to the Identification of Seahorses. Project Seahorse and TRAFFIC North America. Washington D.C.: University of British Columbia and World Wildlife Fund. Cover photo of Hippocampus ingens by Wolcott Henry. Back cover photo of dried seahorses for sale as traditional Chinese medicine. Right tray holds bleached H. barbouri. Left tray holds a mix of H. comes, H. spinosissimus, H. trimaculatus and H. ingens. Photo by Ernest W. T. Cooper, TRAFFIC North America. Order Gasterosteiformes / Family Syngnathidae CITES Appendix II TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1 2.0 METHODS 1 3.0 SEAHORSE CONSERVATION AND BIOLOGY 3 3.1 Conservation 3 3.2 Biology 5 4.0 SEAHORSE MORPHOLOGY AND IDENTIFICATION 7 4.1 Morphology 7 4.2 Identification 7 5.0 SPECIES DESCRIPTIONS 20 REFERENCES 88 APPENDIX A. SEAHORSE IDENTIFICATION DATA SHEET 94 APPENDIX B. HOW TO USE THE SPECIES CHECKLIST 95 APPENDIX C. PHOTOGRAPHIC ATLAS OF DRIED SEAHORSES 97 APPENDIX D. TAXONOMY OF H. histrix AND H. kuda 103 APPENDIX E. DISTRIBUTION OF SEAHORSE SPECIES BY COUNTRY 104 APPENDIX F. COLOUR PLATES OF SEAHORSE SPECIES 109 LIST OF FIGURES 1 External Morphology of a Seahorse 9 2 Rings Supporting the Dorsal Fin 11 3 Example of a Dried Seahorse Specimen with Morphological Data 95 LIST OF TABLES 1 Maximum Heights Recorded for Species of Hippocampus 13 2 Ratio of Head Length to Snout Length (HL/SnL) for species of Hippocampus 14 3 Number of Tail Rings per Species of Hippocampus 15 4 Number of Dorsal Fin Rays per Species of Hippocampus 17 5 Number of Pectoral Fin Rays per Species of Hippocampus 18 6 Numbers of Trunk Rings, Rings Supporting the Dorsal Fin, Cheek Spines and Eye Spines per Species of Hippocampus 19 7 Completed Species Checklist for Seahorse Specimen Illustrated in Figure 3 96 i Order Gasterosteiformes / Family Syngnathidae CITES Appendix II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people made important contributions to this guide. James Hrynyshyn of Project Seahorse revised the maps in the guide and provided invaluable assistance in the preparation of the graphical elements for review drafts. Adriana Suarez Blanch, Maylynn Engler and Andrew Short assisted by reviewing and testing the identification methodology in Section 4.0. Rhema Bjorkland, Sheila Einsweiler, Boris Kwan, Richard Labossiere, Samuel Lee, Stephen Nash, Steven Price, Adrianne Sinclair and Chris Woods all provided insight and helpful comments on draft texts of the guide. Kimberly Davis, Craig Hoover and Tina Leonard of TRAFFIC North America contributed greatly to the development and oversight of the project. Section 5.0 of this guide could not have been completed without the information produced by the many researchers referenced therein. The colour illustrations and all of the line drawings used in Section 5.0 – except for H. denise – are the work of Laurence Richardson. The line drawings of H. denise were provided by Sara A. Lourie. The line drawings used in Section 4.0 and the photographs in Appendix C were prepared by Ernest W. T. Cooper. We are particularly appreciative of the support and encouragement provided by the CITES Secretariat, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries during the development and completion of this guide. This project was made possible thanks to generous funding support from the Donner Canadian Foundation, the Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation and the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Grant Program. It draws on research undertaken with generous support from Project Seahorse partners, the John G. Shedd Aquarium (USA) and Guylian Chocolates (Belgium), as well as a William Dawson Scholarship (to Amanda Vincent). The first identification guide for seahorses, on which this manual is based, was supported by the Rufford Foundation, Maurice Laing Foundation, United Kingdom Natural Environment Research Council, Royal Society and British Airways Communities and Conservation. ii Order Gasterosteiformes / Family Syngnathidae CITES Appendix II 1.0 INTRODUCTION The 12th meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) took place in Santiago, Chile, from November 3 to November 15, 2002. During this meeting the Parties (signatories to CITES) voted to include all seahorses (genus Hippocampus) in Appendix II of the Convention, effective May 15, 20041. Effective implementation of the CITES listing will require that government authorities and other stakeholders be able to identify seahorse species that are utilized in international trade. This guide has been developed to help meet this need. The goal of the guide is to provide technically accurate information that is useful to specialists and non-specialists alike. This is no simple task as many species are similar in appearance and their identification can be challenging. The trade in seahorses involves both live and dead specimens. In some regions the live trade is the dominant pressure on seahorse populations, but the great majority of the seahorses in international trade are dried and destined for use in traditional medicine (see Section 3.0). This guide therefore has been designed with a bias towards the identification of dead specimens. 2.0 METHODS The species descriptions provided here are based on a 1999 publication by Lourie et al entitled Seahorses: An Identification Guide to the World’s Species and their Conservation 2. Materials from this earlier publication have been revised and reformatted and new content has been added to produce this guide.Lourie et al2 describe 32 species of Hippocampus. Recent work, notably by Horne3 and Kuiter4, 5, 6, has led to the description of other seahorse species. Further morphometric and genetic research is likely to prove at least some of these species designations valid, and there is every indication that seahorse taxonomy will continue to evolve and that new species will be described. The practicalities of management and enforcement of the CITES listing, however, necessitate that the seahorse taxonomy be held to a clearly defined list. The taxonomy used in this guide is therefore based on the 1999 Project Seahorse listing, with the addition of H. denise. This guide is limited to these 33 species. The original maps in Lourie et al showed only confirmed location data2. These maps have been modified to show the approximate ranges for each species based on both the confirmed and suspected distribution. The countries of occurrence in the species descriptions have similarly been separated according to whether the occurrence is confirmed or suspected. Twenty-five of the line drawings of seahorse species used in Lourie et al2, have been reprinted in this publication. The original drawings of H. angustus and H. erectus have been replaced and those of H. abdominalis, H. barbouri, H. comes and H. zebra have been revised; new drawings of a male H. camelopardalis and a female H. zebra have been added. Colour illustrations of the 33 species have been added. All drawings and revisions were made from preserved specimens or from photographs supplied by Project Seahorse. 1 Order Gasterosteiformes / Family Syngnathidae CITES Appendix II Section 4.0 and Appendices A and B were developed from the information provided by Lourie et al2 and Lourie and Randall, 20038, and through examination of dried specimens. Tables 2–5 show the range of values for each characteristic. The values highlighted in black represent the modal (most common) values for counts such as the number of tail rings, and the average value for measurements such as the ratio of head length to snout length (HL/SnL). The biological information included in Section 5.0 has been updated from Lourie et al2, based on an extensive literature search and on contributions from members of the networks of syngnathid researchers and aquarium professionals, co-ordinated by Project Seahorse.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Article Evolutionary Dynamics of the OR Gene Repertoire in Teleost Fishes
    bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.03.09.434524; this version posted March 10, 2021. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission. Article Evolutionary dynamics of the OR gene repertoire in teleost fishes: evidence of an association with changes in olfactory epithelium shape Maxime Policarpo1, Katherine E Bemis2, James C Tyler3, Cushla J Metcalfe4, Patrick Laurenti5, Jean-Christophe Sandoz1, Sylvie Rétaux6 and Didier Casane*,1,7 1 Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, IRD, UMR Évolution, Génomes, Comportement et Écologie, 91198, Gif-sur-Yvette, France. 2 NOAA National Systematics Laboratory, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560, U.S.A. 3Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 20560, U.S.A. 4 Independent Researcher, PO Box 21, Nambour QLD 4560, Australia. 5 Université de Paris, Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire des Energies de Demain, Paris, France 6 Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Institut des Neurosciences Paris-Saclay, 91190, Gif-sur- Yvette, France. 7 Université de Paris, UFR Sciences du Vivant, F-75013 Paris, France. * Corresponding author: e-mail: [email protected]. !1 bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.03.09.434524; this version posted March 10, 2021. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission. Abstract Teleost fishes perceive their environment through a range of sensory modalities, among which olfaction often plays an important role.
    [Show full text]
  • An Endangered Seahorse Selectively Chooses an Artificial Structure
    Environ Biol Fish (2018) 101:723–733 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-018-0732-4 An endangered seahorse selectively chooses an artificial structure Louw Claassens & Anthony J. Booth & Alan N. Hodgson Received: 4 October 2017 /Accepted: 15 January 2018 /Published online: 22 January 2018 # Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature 2018 Abstract The development of a residential marina es- Keywords Zostera Capensis . Hippocampus capensis . tate within the Knysna estuary, South Africa, introduced Habitat choice . Estuary. Reno mattress Reno mattresses (horizontal wire cages filled with rocks) as a novel habitat for the endangered Knysna seahorse Hippocampus capensis. Consistently high Introduction seahorse densities on these artificial structures, despite the availability of seagrass habitat, begged the question The coastal zone is known for its high population den- of whether this habitat was chosen by the seahorse in sity and development pressures (Nicholls and Small preference to natural vegetation. An in situ habitat 2002), and a major challenge for conservationists is to choice experiment was conducted which focused on conserve despite these pressures. Specifically, urban the choice made by adult H. capensis between natural sprawl has spread into our coastal and estuarine envi- vegetation (Zostera capensis) and artificial (Reno mat- ronments and this phenomenon has been dubbed ‘ocean tress) habitat within a choice chamber. Seahorses were sprawl’ (Firth et al. 2016a). Ocean sprawl can be defined significantly more likely to move away from Z. capensis as: Bthe proliferation of artificial structures associated onto a Reno mattress structure or remain on this struc- with coastal protection, shipping, aquaculture, and other ture.
    [Show full text]
  • Marine Animals Protected by the IUCN Red Data List and CITES 1973 on Seagrass Ecosystems
    E3S Web of Conferences 68, 04011 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf /20186804011 1st SRICOENV 2018 Marine Animals Protected by the IUCN Red Data List and CITES 1973 on Seagrass Ecosystems 1* 2 3 Andreas Pramudianto , Putut Suharso , dan Nurul Hidayati 1School of Environmental Science, University of Indonesia, Salemba Raya Street no. 4, Jakarta 10430 Indonesia 2Department of Library and Information Science, Diponegoro University, Prof. H. Soedarto SH street, Semarang 50275 Indonesia 3Postgraduated student Environmental Science Programme, School of Environmental Science, University of Indonesia, Salemba Raya Street No. 4, Jakarta 10430, Indonesia Abstract. Seagrass beds are important for providing ecological functions and ecosystem services, including its role as habitat for marine animals. In spite of their significance, they remain in decline. The change of seagrass beds will affect the associated animals. Some animals that live on seagrass beds protected by IUCN Red Data List and CITES 1973. Yet the data have not been properly recorded. The aim of this study was to find out the existence of marine animals protected by the Red Data List and CITES 1973 IUCN, especially in seagrass ecosystems in Indonesia. The method used in this research is mix method with desk study approach and presentation of data analyzed through review. The results of the study show that changes in seagrass ecosystems will affect the presence of migratory marine animals and those who live and settle in this ecosystem. The provisions in the IUCN Red Data List and CITES 1973 supported by national legislation in Indonesia will have significant impact on the protection of marine animals in seagrass beds.
    [Show full text]
  • Hippocampus Bargibanti Whitley 1970
    Order Gasterosteiformes / Family Syngnathidae CITES Appendix II Hippocampus bargibanti Whitley 1970 Common names Bargibant’s seahorse (U.S.A.); pygmy seahorse (Australia) Synonyms None known Description Maximum recorded adult height: 2.4 cm45 Trunk rings: 11–12 Tail rings: 31–32 (31–33) HL/SnL: 4.6 (4.3–5.4) Rings supporting dorsal fin: 3 trunk rings (no tail rings) Dorsal fin rays: 14 (13–15) Pectoral fin rays: 10 (10–11) Coronet: Rounded knob Spines: Irregular bulbous tubercles scattered over body and tail; single, prominent rounded eye spine; single, low rounded cheek spine Other distinctive characteristics: Head and body fleshy, mostly without recognisable body rings; ventral portion of trunk segments incomplete; snout extremely short 30 Order Gasterosteiformes / Family Syngnathidae CITES Appendix II Colour/pattern: Two colour morphs are known: (a) pale grey or purple with pink or red tubercles (found on gorgonian coral Muricella plectana); and (b) yellow with orange tubercles (found on gorgonian coral Muricella paraplectana) Confirmed distribution Australia; France (New Caledonia); Indonesia; Japan; Papua New Guinea; Philippines Suspected distribution Federated States of Micronesia; Malaysia; Palau; Solomon Islands; Vanuatu Habitat Typically found at 16–40 m depth46; only known to occur on gorgonian corals of the genus Muricella45, 46 Life history Breeding season year round47; adults usually found in pairs or clusters of pairs in the wild (up to 28 on a single gorgonian)47; gestation duration averages 2 weeks48; length at birth averages 2 mm48; brood size 34 from one male47 Trade Not known in international trade Conservation status The entire genus Hippocampus is listed in Appendix II of CITES, effective May 20041.
    [Show full text]
  • Teleostei, Syngnathidae)
    ZooKeys 934: 141–156 (2020) A peer-reviewed open-access journal doi: 10.3897/zookeys.934.50924 RESEARCH ARTICLE https://zookeys.pensoft.net Launched to accelerate biodiversity research Hippocampus nalu, a new species of pygmy seahorse from South Africa, and the first record of a pygmy seahorse from the Indian Ocean (Teleostei, Syngnathidae) Graham Short1,2,3, Louw Claassens4,5,6, Richard Smith4, Maarten De Brauwer7, Healy Hamilton4,8, Michael Stat9, David Harasti4,10 1 Research Associate, Ichthyology, Australian Museum Research Institute, Sydney, Australia 2 Ichthyology, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, USA 3 Ichthyology, Burke Museum, Seattle, USA 4 IUCN Seahorse, Pipefish Stickleback Specialist Group, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada5 Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa 6 Knysna Basin Project, Knysna, South Africa 7 University of Leeds, Leeds, UK 8 NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia, USA 9 University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia 10 Port Stephens Fisheries Institute, NSW, Australia Corresponding author: Graham Short ([email protected]) Academic editor: Nina Bogutskaya | Received 13 February 2020 | Accepted 12 April 2020 | Published 19 May 2020 http://zoobank.org/E9104D84-BB71-4533-BB7A-2DB3BD4E4B5E Citation: Short G, Claassens L, Smith R, De Brauwer M, Hamilton H, Stat M, Harasti D (2020) Hippocampus nalu, a new species of pygmy seahorse from South Africa, and the first record of a pygmy seahorse from the Indian Ocean (Teleostei, Syngnathidae). ZooKeys 934: 141–156. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.934.50924 Abstract A new species and the first confirmed record of a true pygmy seahorse from Africa,Hippocampus nalu sp. nov., is herein described on the basis of two specimens, 18.9–22 mm SL, collected from flat sandy coral reef at 14–17 meters depth from Sodwana Bay, South Africa.
    [Show full text]
  • Final Determination of White's Seahorse
    Final Determination July 2019 White’s seahorse Hippocampus whitei Listing Category: Endangered IUCN Category: EN [A2bc] The Fisheries Scientific Committee, established under Part 7A of the Fisheries Management Act 1994 (the Act), has made a Final Determination to list the Hippocampus whitei (White’s Seahorse) as an ENDANGERED SPECIES in Part 1 of Schedule 4 of the Act. The Fisheries Scientific Committee, with reference to the criteria relevant to this species, prescribed by Part 16 of the Fisheries Management (General) Regulation 2010 (the Regulation) has assessed and determined that: The listing of ENDANGERED is provided for by Part 7A, Division 2 of the Act. The assessment has been determined in accordance with the national Common Assessment Method (CAM), which provides a nationally consistent approach to the assessing and listing of threatened species in Australia. Species information and status a) Species: Hippocampus whitei – White’s Seahorse, Bleeker, 1855 (family Syngnathidae) is a valid, recognised taxon and is a species as defined in the Act. The species is endemic to NSW and QLD in eastern Australia. b) Taxonomy Hippocampus whitei was first discovered in 1789 in Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) and named after John White, surgeon general to the first fleet and author of Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales 1789, in which a portrait of H. whitei is published and was described by Bleeker in 1855. Hippocampus novaehollandiae Steindachner, 1866 is a synonym. In 2016, H. procerus was determined to be a synonym of H. whitei as there were no morphological or genetic differences between individuals of the two species (Lourie et al., 2016; .Short et al., in press).
    [Show full text]
  • Courtship Behavior in the Dwarf Seahorse, Hippocampuszosterae
    Copeia, 1996(3), pp. 634-640 Courtship Behavior in the Dwarf Seahorse, Hippocampuszosterae HEATHER D. MASONJONESAND SARA M. LEWIS The seahorse genus Hippocampus (Syngnathidae) exhibits extreme morpho- logical specialization for paternal care, with males incubating eggs within a highly vascularized brood pouch. Dwarf seahorses, H. zosterae, form monoga- mous pairs that court early each morning until copulation takes place. Daily behavioral observations of seahorse pairs (n = 15) were made from the day of introduction through the day of copulation. Four distinct phases of seahorse courtship are marked by prominent behavioral changes, as well as by differences in the intensity of courtship. The first courtship phase occurs for one or two mornings preceding the day of copulation and is characterized by reciprocal quivering, consisting of rapid side-to-side body vibrations displayed alternately by males and females. The remaining courtship phases are restricted to the day of copulation, with the second courtship phase distinguished by females pointing, during which the head is raised upward. In the third courtship phase, males begin to point in response to female pointing. During the final phase of courtship, seahorse pairs repeatedly rise together in the water column, eventually leading to females transferring their eggs directly into the male brood pouch during a brief midwater copulation. Courtship activity level (representing the percentage of time spent in courtship) increased from relatively low levels during the first courtship phase to highly active courtship on the day of copulation. Males more actively initiated courtship on the days preceding copulation, indicating that these seahorses are not courtship-role reversed, as has previously been assumed.
    [Show full text]
  • The Global Trade in Marine Ornamental Species
    From Ocean to Aquarium The global trade in marine ornamental species Colette Wabnitz, Michelle Taylor, Edmund Green and Tries Razak From Ocean to Aquarium The global trade in marine ornamental species Colette Wabnitz, Michelle Taylor, Edmund Green and Tries Razak ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS UNEP World Conservation This report would not have been The authors would like to thank Helen Monitoring Centre possible without the participation of Corrigan for her help with the analyses 219 Huntingdon Road many colleagues from the Marine of CITES data, and Sarah Ferriss for Cambridge CB3 0DL, UK Aquarium Council, particularly assisting in assembling information Tel: +44 (0) 1223 277314 Aquilino A. Alvarez, Paul Holthus and and analysing Annex D and GMAD data Fax: +44 (0) 1223 277136 Peter Scott, and all trading companies on Hippocampus spp. We are grateful E-mail: [email protected] who made data available to us for to Neville Ash for reviewing and editing Website: www.unep-wcmc.org inclusion into GMAD. The kind earlier versions of the manuscript. Director: Mark Collins assistance of Akbar, John Brandt, Thanks also for additional John Caldwell, Lucy Conway, Emily comments to Katharina Fabricius, THE UNEP WORLD CONSERVATION Corcoran, Keith Davenport, John Daphné Fautin, Bert Hoeksema, Caroline MONITORING CENTRE is the biodiversity Dawes, MM Faugère et Gavand, Cédric Raymakers and Charles Veron; for assessment and policy implemen- Genevois, Thomas Jung, Peter Karn, providing reprints, to Alan Friedlander, tation arm of the United Nations Firoze Nathani, Manfred Menzel, Julie Hawkins, Sherry Larkin and Tom Environment Programme (UNEP), the Davide di Mohtarami, Edward Molou, Ogawa; and for providing the picture on world’s foremost intergovernmental environmental organization.
    [Show full text]
  • Of the Americas
    iSeahorse.org – Saving Seahorses Together seahorses of the Americas Seahorses of the Americas Masters of Disguise There are currently fi ve recognized species of Seahorses are well-camoufl aged, and individuals seahorses (Hippocampus spp.) in the Americas, can be covered by seaweeds and sediments in one in the Pacifi c Ocean and four in the the wild. Color and lengths of skin fi laments (“hairs”) Atlantic. All of these American seahorses tend can vary for individuals within the same species to live in relatively shallow coastal areas with and so are NOT useful for identifi cation. Practice 3D-structured habitat, including seagrasses, your identifi cation skills before starting surveys. corals, and mangroves. Above: Potential seahorse habitats. Left to right: coral reef, seagrass bed, mangrove forest. Photos by Tse-Lynn Loh and Ria Tan/Wild Singapore. Seahorse Parts Hippocampus barbouri Coronet Trunk Eye spine Nose spine Dorsal fi n Cheek spines Snout Brood pouch (males only) Tail Female Male In females, the belly does not extend past the bottom of the dorsal fi n. If you are uncertain, it is likely male. Pacifi c Seahorses Don’t Know Which Seahorse Species? How to Photograph for ID For unknown species, record the Head length following characteristics: • Torso length Torso length (distance from top of coronet to base of dorsal fi n) • Head length (from immediately behind the operculum – the fl ap covering the gills – to tip of snout) • Snout length Snout length (from bump immediately in front of the eye to tip of snout) or Take a photo of the side profi le of the seahorse with a ruler and calculate these measurements from the photo.
    [Show full text]
  • (Teleostei: Syngnathidae: Hippocampinae) from The
    Disponible en ligne sur www.sciencedirect.com Annales de Paléontologie 98 (2012) 131–151 Original article The first known fossil record of pygmy pipehorses (Teleostei: Syngnathidae: Hippocampinae) from the Miocene Coprolitic Horizon, Tunjice Hills, Slovenia La première découverte de fossiles d’hippocampes « pygmy pipehorses » (Teleostei : Syngnathidae : Hippocampinae) de l’Horizon Coprolithique du Miocène des collines de Tunjice, Slovénie a,∗ b Jure Zaloharˇ , Tomazˇ Hitij a Department of Geology, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Aˇskerˇceva 12, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia b Dental School, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Hrvatski trg 6, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia Available online 27 March 2012 Abstract The first known fossil record of pygmy pipehorses is described. The fossils were collected in the Middle Miocene (Sarmatian) beds of the Coprolitic Horizon in the Tunjice Hills, Slovenia. They belong to a new genus and species Hippotropiscis frenki, which was similar to the extant representatives of Acentronura, Amphelikturus, Idiotropiscis, and Kyonemichthys genera. Hippotropiscis frenki lived among seagrasses and macroalgae and probably also on a mud and silt bottom in the temperate shallow coastal waters of the western part of the Central Paratethys Sea. The high coronet on the head, the ridge system and the high angle at which the head is angled ventrad indicate that Hippotropiscis is most related to Idiotropiscis and Hippocampus (seahorses) and probably separated from the main seahorse lineage later than Idiotropiscis. © 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved. Keywords: Seahorses; Slovenia; Coprolitic Horizon; Sarmatian; Miocene Résumé L’article décrit la première découverte connue de fossiles d’hippocampes « pygmy pipehorses ». Les fos- siles ont été trouvés dans les plages du Miocène moyen (Sarmatien) de l’horizon coprolithique dans les collines de Tunjice, en Slovénie.
    [Show full text]
  • An Invitation to Monitor Georgia's Coastal Wetlands
    An Invitation to Monitor Georgia’s Coastal Wetlands www.shellfish.uga.edu By Mary Sweeney-Reeves, Dr. Alan Power, & Ellie Covington First Printing 2003, Second Printing 2006, Copyright University of Georgia “This book was prepared by Mary Sweeney-Reeves, Dr. Alan Power, and Ellie Covington under an award from the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of OCRM and NOAA.” 2 Acknowledgements Funding for the development of the Coastal Georgia Adopt-A-Wetland Program was provided by a NOAA Coastal Incentive Grant, awarded under the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Coastal Zone Management Program (UGA Grant # 27 31 RE 337130). The Coastal Georgia Adopt-A-Wetland Program owes much of its success to the support, experience, and contributions of the following individuals: Dr. Randal Walker, Marie Scoggins, Dodie Thompson, Edith Schmidt, John Crawford, Dr. Mare Timmons, Marcy Mitchell, Pete Schlein, Sue Finkle, Jenny Makosky, Natasha Wampler, Molly Russell, Rebecca Green, and Jeanette Henderson (University of Georgia Marine Extension Service); Courtney Power (Chatham County Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission); Dr. Joe Richardson (Savannah State University); Dr. Chandra Franklin (Savannah State University); Dr. Dionne Hoskins (NOAA); Dr. Charles Belin (Armstrong Atlantic University); Dr. Merryl Alber (University of Georgia); (Dr. Mac Rawson (Georgia Sea Grant College Program); Harold Harbert, Kim Morris-Zarneke, and Michele Droszcz (Georgia Adopt-A-Stream); Dorset Hurley and Aimee Gaddis (Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve); Dr. Charra Sweeney-Reeves (All About Pets); Captain Judy Helmey (Miss Judy Charters); Jan Mackinnon and Jill Huntington (Georgia Department of Natural Resources).
    [Show full text]
  • South-East Marine Region Profile
    South-east marine region profile A description of the ecosystems, conservation values and uses of the South-east Marine Region June 2015 © Commonwealth of Australia 2015 South-east marine region profile: A description of the ecosystems, conservation values and uses of the South-east Marine Region is licensed by the Commonwealth of Australia for use under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia licence with the exception of the Coat of Arms of the Commonwealth of Australia, the logo of the agency responsible for publishing the report, content supplied by third parties, and any images depicting people. For licence conditions see: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/ This report should be attributed as ‘South-east marine region profile: A description of the ecosystems, conservation values and uses of the South-east Marine Region, Commonwealth of Australia 2015’. The Commonwealth of Australia has made all reasonable efforts to identify content supplied by third parties using the following format ‘© Copyright, [name of third party] ’. Front cover: Seamount (CSIRO) Back cover: Royal penguin colony at Finch Creek, Macquarie Island (Melinda Brouwer) B / South-east marine region profile South-east marine region profile A description of the ecosystems, conservation values and uses of the South-east Marine Region Contents Figures iv Tables iv Executive Summary 1 The marine environment of the South-east Marine Region 1 Provincial bioregions of the South-east Marine Region 2 Conservation values of the South-east Marine Region 2 Key ecological features 2 Protected species 2 Protected places 2 Human activities and the marine environment 3 1.
    [Show full text]